Events such as April’s Startup Weekend at Coalesce in downtown Jackson show the growth of Jackson’s entrepreneurship community. It’s important to understand the challenges those businesses may face and help alleviate them. Photo courtesy Crystal Kehtel/Innovate Mississippi

​One of BOOM Jackson and the Jackson Free Press' biggest missions is to show people why they should support local business. Much of our coverage tends to center around local entrepreneurs and people.

​On Dec. 21, 2017, Mantle. founder Christopher Lomax met with Susan Farris, marketing manager for the Mangia Bene Restaurant Management Group at Sal & Mookie's New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint. They were discussing a partnership to grow Mantle's Sandbox program, in which members can use a card to receive discounts at local stores, gyms and restaurants, including Sal & Mookie's. During the meeting, Lomax and Farris came up with the idea to launch a series of events and networking opportunities for local business people called Entrepreneur Quarterly.

Laurie McCarthy always knew she wanted to owner her own business. Photo by Stephen Wilson

​Entrepreneurship runs in Laurie McCarthy's blood. The New Jersey native moved to Jackson when she was in ninth grade. Her father, William L. West Jr., started a communications business in Jackson called Nation Wide Paging.

Melanie John (pictured) and her sister, Janella John, own StudioAMN & Designs, which is on Ridgewood Road on Jackson. They wouldn’t be anywhere but the capital city, she says. Photo courtesy Devna Bose

​Ridgewood Road is the site of one of Jackson's hidden gems, Studio AMN & Designs, a fine-arts gallery and "paint and sip" studio where clients can drink wine while creating art.

​For the past two years, 30-year-old New Orleans native Mike Mosley has been serving up Cajun-inspired cuisine to Jacksonians and getting widespread acclaim for his culinary creations at 1693 Redzone Grill, where he is the chef and co-owner.

Husband-and-wife duo Alyssa and Jon Bryant created their cottage-food business, Bryant Foods, LLC, in spring 2017 with the goal of providing food options that taste good while still being good for you. Photo courtesy Imani Khayyam

​On a Saturday morning in July, Alyssa and Jon Bryant are setting up at the Mississippi Farmers Market in downtown Jackson to sell a variety of sweet treats, such as chocolate-chip cookies and waffles.

​It's a Thursday night in July around 8:30 p.m., and the lounge section of BRAVO! Italian Restaurant & Bar is packed and full of life as people partake in the restaurant's new daily event, Social Hour.

​The restaurant scene in metro Jackson is constantly changing, growing and becoming more competitive. In the last 15 years, we've watched the region become a food mecca, especially with more locally owned restaurants. Here is some of what happened in the metro area's restaurant scene in the last year.